A Sleuth's Hat
by Cherry474
Summary: P4. Chie invites Naoto over for a sleepover, and they watch some movies together. Partly a dialogue exercise, mostly an idea that WOULD NOT GO AWAY. Inferred sort-of cameo from another SMT game. Enjoy, folks.


Naoto had been skeptical at first, when Chie had invited her for a sleepover. _Last_ time, Rise and Yukiko had been invited, and they all had sat around with a pair of laptops and cell phones and exchanged emails and links to interesting YouTube videos with Souji all night. While _fun_, it hadn't been much of a sleepover, and the detective thought it could have been more enjoyable had the online conversation been from home, rather than cramped into that tight space filled with empty popcorn bags and open kung-fu classic DVD boxes.

Well, maybe this time was different. Yukiko had been too busy with matters at the Amagi Inn, and neither of them could catch Rise after class, so it would just be the two of them, there would be more space. Last time, Chie had wanted to watch movies, but of her entire library of DVDs had only one that was not a kung-fu film, and it was an action flick, anyway. Yukiko didn't mind, but Rise had been wanting to see a drama, and, stubborn as she was, she had her way. There hadn't been a single movie watched when the girls of the gang gathered the night of Souji's departure.

"Yo!" Chie greeted her. "You made it! Come on in."

Chie didn't normally do "girly" things like sleepovers, but the going-away of a friend was cause to gather and remember – except he had been unused to his own bed back home in the city, and the girls had had nothing better to do except go online. It was what they needed at the time, though.

"You cleaned up," Naoto observed as Chie opened the door to her room. The DVD cases were picked up off the floor, and the little sofa had been pushed back a little bit, with a table set up in front of it, containing a giant bowl of popcorn and four six-packs of soda. There were still lots of empty food wrappers, though. Naoto was surprised there were no pests in the room.

"You looked uncomfortable last time, so I figured I'd deal with that." She walked over to the bookshelf, once empty, but now containing her DVDs, and picked out a kung-fu film. "_The Dragon's Infernal Showdown,_" she read off the cover. "Chinese, Japanese subtitles. What do you think?"

Naoto shrugged noncommittally. "You're the hostess."

"Okay." Chie popped the DVD into the PS2 resting on the floor and plopped down on the sofa, picking up the wireless controller resting on the table. "C'mon, have a seat," she said, gesturing for Naoto to follow.

The detective did so, sitting down slowly as Chie mashed the X button, trying to make the movie jump to the menu faster. Finally, the system took the input, and they watched the movie.

This was repeated through several DVDs until about midnight, when, on a whim, Chie turned off the TV. Without having to ask, Naoto stared with her into the blank screen, watching their nervous reflections. Static faded onto the screen briefly. Empty, of course. Chie chuckled nervously, and Naoto followed suit.

"Crazy us, huh?" Chie said.

"Wishful," said Naoto. "Hoping we can be what we once were."

"Great detectives, solving supernatural crimes! The great…um… huh." Chie grinned sheepishly. "We never came up with a team name, did we?"

"No, we didn't. Hmm…Midnight…" Naoto tried.

"Oh, 'midnight' something, that's good. How about…Midnight Rangers?"

"Sleuths."

"Fighters."

"Seekers."

Chie's eyes lit up. "Patrol!"

"Midnight Patrol…?" Naoto chuckled. "That sounds like it might have come from an old seventies cartoon."

"I give up. Oh, well, what next? Tired yet?"

"Not particularly."

"Then how about another movie?"

"…I'm getting a little tired of kung-fu, to be honest," said Naoto, opening another can of soda.

"But we still have some popcorn left," said Chie. "Oh, wait! I've got a movie that isn't kung-fu! We can watch that!"

"Alright."

Chie laughed. "It fits us. If it's not a fighter, it's a detective."

Naoto chuckled as she watched Chie repeat the "insert disc, plop down, mash X" sequence. They sat and watched the movie, both seeming to enjoy the break from the genre rut they had been stuck in.

"You know, that YouTube video we saw with Souji the first time," said Chie.

"Which one?" Naoto asked, still semi-watching.

"That American cartoon with the cat-and-mouse PI's. The one where they had to get that fish?"

"I remember that one. You pointed out how the cat went scuba diving with his hat on."

"Yep! It's like that scene in this-"

"Oh, are we coming up on that?"

"In a little bit, after he's done fighting this…thing."

"It looks somewhat like Ameno-sagiri," Naoto remarked.

"Huh, yeah, it kinda does," Chie agreed. "Anyway, is there something…special about a private eye's hat?"

Naoto blinked.

"I mean…" Chie laughed nervously at her own stupid question. "I kinda figured you'd know, you know, since you are one…"

Naoto blinked some more. Then, she laughed. "I suppose the idea began with Sherlock Holmes. But, I can't say I feel any significant attachment to my hat…"

"_Hold it right there, smart guy!"_ a menacing voice issued from the TV speaker. Both girls looked up, watched the camera pan slowly up…and Naoto burst into laughter worthy of Yukiko.

"I can't believe it!" gasped the detective. "I just can't…he's still…!"

"S-stop laughing!" Chie wheezed through the onset of giggles caught from her friend.

Both girls quieted as they watched the on-screen altercation intensify.

It was a whim. A stupid idea. Maybe it was because they'd stayed up past midnight watching kung-fu movies. Maybe it was all the caffeine. Maybe it was both. But, whatever the reason, Naoto began to sing.

"_Sweet darling_," she sang.

Chie snickered before following with, "_You can leave your hat on_."

As the world's most implausibly-censored fight scene began, the girls continued the song both of them knew from that same YouTube session (the end sequence of _The Full Monty_, naturally).

"_You can leave your hat on_," Naoto sang. "_Baby."_

"_You can leave your hat on,_" Chie obligingly provided backup, standing and cupping her fingers around an invisible microphone.

Not one to be outdone, Naoto did the same, using her just-emptied soda can as a mic. "_You can leave your hat on."_

"_You can leave your hat on._"

They couldn't keep straight faces past the end of the verse, and they collapsed onto the sofa in helpless laughter, the movie all but forgotten as it played on.

"Oh…oh, man…" Chie gasped. "That's too funny."

"Ha…I still can't believe…Whew…" Naoto sat back and grabbed another soda. "I know the 'sleuth hat' convention, but I didn't think…"

"Pl-please…quiet," said Chie. "We'll miss the rest…"

The girls finished watching the movie. It was almost 2:00 when it was over.

"So, what now?" Chie asked, staring into the empty popcorn bowl.

"We go to sleep?" Naoto suggested. "It's late."

"Yeah, you're right," said Chie. "So…this was fun."

"It was."

"Maybe we can do more conventional sleepover stuff next time, like paint each others' nails."

Naoto stared at Chie in disbelief.

The martial arts enthusiast burst out laughing. "I'm joking!" she said. "I wouldn't be caught dead!"

"That makes two of us," chuckled Naoto, setting up her sleeping bag.

They changed into their nightclothes, and Chie collapsed onto her futon, rolling over to see Naoto facing away from her. She was still wearing her hat.

"You're going to sleep with your hat on?" Chie asked, giggling.

Naoto laughed. "I _am_ a private detective."

"Wh-whatever," laughed Chie. "Good, night, Naoto."

"Good night."

In the dark room, just before she fell asleep, Naoto could swear she heard Chie humming softly to the tune of "You Can Leave Your Hat On."


End file.
